Yuki Tsunoda returned to the seat of a Formula 1 car over the weekend for a demonstration run, but it took a turn for the worse when the car burst into flames.
The Japanese driver took part in a show run in San Francisco alongside former F1 and rallycross driver Scott Speed, Ford off-road racer Mitch Guthrie and freestyle motocross rider Aaron Colton.
At the wheel of Red Bull’s double-title-winning 2011 RB7, Tsunoda entertained the crowd with doughnuts on Marina Boulevard before the rear of the car erupted into flames. Fans shouted at the 25-year-old to get out of the car, which he did safely before marshals worked to put out the fire.
“When you don’t like that you were demoted to reserve driver and torch the car,” one fan joked on X, while another added: “Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull turned San Francisco into a real fire show. Smoke, flames and a crowd that came for the demo but got a pyrotechnic surprise instead. Who said Formula 1 wasn’t extreme enough?”
Tsunoda was moved into a test and reserve driver role for 2026 after losing his full-time Red Bull seat to Isack Hadjar at the end of 2025. “Obviously, I’m disappointed, and p***ed off,” Tsunoda told the media in Abu Dhabi last year. “How I was told was right after the race [in Qatar], from Helmut, privately, that I’m not racing next year. Surprisingly, I’m OK. Not OK, like, I’m surviving OK. The morning after, I ordered breakfast as usual, the same food.
“Probably, I’m not recognising enough it will be the last race for this year, for next year. Maybe I’ll feel more after Abu Dhabi. But that’s how it went and how I feel now.”
The 2026 F1 season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix from 6-8 March at Albert Park in Melbourne.
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